Is Justin Sun’s $456M TrueUSD Dispute Exposing Gaps in Hong Kong’s Trust Company Oversight?

Justin Sun faces a fast-escalating legal and reputational fight in Hong Kong over how large pools of stablecoin reserves were handled.

At a press conference on November 27, the founder of Tron and an adviser to Techteryx repeated claims of fraud against Hong Kong trust firm First Digital Trust. 

The comments came as Sun is already dealing with a defamation case in the city and a widening court dispute over roughly $456 million tied to TrueUSD reserves.

The row stretches across Hong Kong and Dubai. And it lands at an awkward moment, with the city working on a new ruleset for licensed stablecoins. 

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Is Hong Kong Doing Enough to Police Trust Firms Holding Crypto Reserves?

at the Dubai International Financial Centre,

At a press briefing in Hong Kong, Sun said First Digital Trust moved TrueUSD reserves out of regulated custody by exploiting holes in the city’s trust rules. 

He claimed that Aria Commodities DMCC in Dubai received the funds and used them for hard-to-sell commodity and infrastructure deals. Sun said that those actions contradicted the purpose of a stablecoin, which should be fully backed by cash. He described the dispute as a test of how Hong Kong oversees Trust or Company Service Providers. These firms answer to the Companies Registry, not financial regulators, even though they can hold large pools of client money.

Sun argued that the system lets trusted companies shift assets with fewer checks than banks face. He called on authorities to close those gaps as they work on formal rules for stablecoin issuers and custodians.

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Why Did a Dubai Court Freeze $456 Million Linked to Aria Commodities?

He also pointed to a recent decision by the Dubai International Financial Centre’s Digital Economy Court. 

The court ordered a worldwide freeze on assets of up to $456 million tied to Aria Commodities DMCC.

On October 17, the court issued an order, which it made public earlier this month, that bars the company from moving its assets while judges review claims that Aria Commodity Finance Fund transferred TrueUSD into Aria’s own businesses.

Court filings say the funds were not kept in cash or near-cash form. Instead, Aria placed the funds into trade-finance loans, energy and renewable projects, mining ventures, and even ship purchases.

In Dubai, Judge Michael Black KC at the Dubai International Financial Centre maintained the asset freeze after identifying “serious issues to be tried,” questioning whether Aria had diverted money from the fund into its own operations instead of holding it for TUSD users.

He made clear the ruling did not decide who was at fault. It secures the assets and prevents anyone from moving or hiding them before the case goes to trial.

The dispute has also spilled into Hong Kong’s political arena. Sun has pushed the issue beyond the courts, adding pressure on the city as it tries to sell itself as a digital-asset hub. 

In April, lawmaker Johnny Ng said his office and Hong Kong’s Anti-Fraud Alliance had received several complaints about suspected misconduct by trust firms. 

He urged officials to tighten the city’s Trust or Company Service Provider rules and warned that gaps in the system invite exploitation.

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The post Is Justin Sun’s $456M TrueUSD Dispute Exposing Gaps in Hong Kong’s Trust Company Oversight? appeared first on 99Bitcoins.

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